X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Gavin Hood

Writers (WGA):

David Benioff (screenplay) and
Skip Woods (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

After seeking to live a normal life, Logan sets out to avenge the death of his girlfriend by undergoing the mutant Weapon X program and becoming Wolverine.

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | Colonel | Logger | Revenge | Brother

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Liev Schreiber	...	Victor Creed
Danny Huston	...	William Stryker
Will i Am	...	John Wraith (as Will.i.am)
Lynn Collins	...	Kayla Silverfox
Kevin Durand	...	Fred Dukes / Blob
Dominic Monaghan	...	Bradley
Taylor Kitsch	...	Remy LeBeau / Gambit
Daniel Henney	...	Agent Zero
Ryan Reynolds	...	Wade Wilson
Tim Pocock	...	Scott Summers
Julia Blake	...	Heather Hudson
Max Cullen	...	Travis Hudson
Troye Sivan	...	James Howlett
Michael-James Olsen	...	Young Victor

Also Known As:

Wolverine (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12A | South Korea:12 | Ireland:12A | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:14 | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44640) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Germany:16 (cut) (theatrical version) | Germany:16 (uncut) (home video version) | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Mexico:B | Iceland:14 | France:U | Japan:G | Taiwan:R-12

Filming Locations:

Arcadia Station, Glenorchy, Otago, New Zealand

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart are the only two cast members to appear in all four X-Men films. Scott Summers/Cyclops appears in all four as well but portrayed by two different actors.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Wolverine approaches Kayla's body, her mouth is hanging open. When he reaches down to close her eyes, her mouth is closed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Young Victor Creed: You're always sick.
Young James Logan: You were sick when you were my age.

Movie Connections:

References X-Men (2000)

Soundtrack:

New Orleans Boogie

Underdeveloped and Overproduced

This film was slated to be a blockbuster film, and it really is. This is the type of movie that is made to eat popcorn to and watch the flashy graphics. With that in mind, the movie delivers, perhaps not as well as the ultra flashy Iron Man, but well enough. Outside of the popcorn munching action and special effects, the film drops off of the cliff faster than Wile E. Coyote.

Many viewers, myself included, will complain about how most of the characters were severely altered, but that only makes the film a poor adaptation, not a poor film. This film is unsatisfactory for other reasons. The makers focused more on making it appealing to the eye than they did to the mind. The characters that have been long awaited and promoted are reduced to 4-scene cameos. The main characters of Wolverine, Victor Creed (never called Sabertooth in the film) and Colonel Stryker are well developed. I was pleasantly surprised by Liev Schriber's performance. The rest of the characters are tossed to the wayside to make way for the all important eye-candy. Wolverine's character is fully developed after 30-minutes, as is Sabertooth, though Victor does pull off some surprises late in the film.

The "final boss" of the film is a twisted and perverse adaptation of the original character and barely gets any development to show just why he is the way he is. The filmmakers obviously felt that all they really needed to do was create a bad ass character who could do anything they wanted and slapped on the name of a popular character.

Very disappointing...